"We don't have enough sponsorship to go and do the race, so P.J. Jones will start the car and run 20 or 30 laps," Gordon told NASCAR.com. "It's ridiculous that we can't find sponsorship, but that's where we are."

Gordon has a trip planned to Argentina this week, so is handing driving duties over to Jones, who ran a second RGM car at Sonoma. Thanks to the penalty on the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports car, Jones will be locked in the field.

It's very rare to see a top-35 car having to start and park, but Gordon's announcement means that two cars that don't have to qualify will probably be heading to the garage early on Sunday. Bobby Labonte and the TRG No. 71 car have had to resort to starting and parking when they don't have funding.

Gordon's moved up to 32nd in the owner's points standings thanks to his second-place finish at Infineon Raceway, so he has a cushion if he chooses to keep starting and parking to save money. Plus, Watkins Glen isn't too far away, and given his performance at Sonoma, Gordon thinks he has a great chance there. He told NASCAR.com:

"I believe they'll have confidence going to Watkins Glen that we can actually win that race so we can build some momentum throughout the summer and hopefully have some good runs. We had a very good test at Indy about a month and a half ago. I'm excited about going there. We got some other race tracks we run good at, not only Watkins Glen, but it will help us build momentum just in general."